What all is necessary when building your own PC

Kim

My 11 year old son is looking for a gaming PC however he would like to pick the different components and have it put together by you (which we see is an option). He already has a gaming monitor (which we purchased from you). a gaming mouse and keyboard. The games he usually plays are Fortnite, GTA 5 and Call of Duty Modern Warefare. He is looking for decent FPS when playing. Can you please advise if every single thing that you offer when "building" one is necessary? There are 2 different SSD options etc and we aren't familiar with what's necessary and what isn't especially when trying to compare to a pre-built one. We are ready to purchase one once we have what we need and would love some help.  We would greatly appreciate it! Thank you!

TSTonyV

Hello @Kim! Welcome to the Community. This is a list of the components required to build a computer:

Motherboard
Processor
RAM
Graphics Card
Power Supply
Drive (SSD or Hard drive)
Case

You also need an Operating System, such as Windows 10. 

Regarding your question specifically about SSDs, you're probably seeing the 2.5" SATA drives and the M.2 style drives. You can use either, it just depends on what kind of slots your motherboard has. Most motherboards these days have an M.2 slot available to use an M.2 SSD with, and personally I like the convenience and ease of installation they provide since you don't have to mess around with cables.

If you're up for it, I'd also recommend reading through the How to Choose Your Parts guide we put together. It will cover a lot of different principles behind choosing hardware for a custom build, and give you an idea of what types of parts can work in different categories. I will say, with the games you listed, you wouldn't have to spend an exorbitant amount on a gaming PC. A decent budget or mid-range system will handle those games very well.